Review: Baked Fresh (Portland Heat #2) by Annabeth Albert

From its famous coffee to the mouthwatering fare at its cafés, restaurants, and bakeries, Portland, Oregon, has a lot to whet the appetite, including the hard-working men who serve it all up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Vic Degrassi is a baker on the rise, and it’s all thanks to his rare ability to make—and keep—his New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s losing weight, giving up smoking, or graduating from culinary school, Vic goes after what he wants—and gets it. This year? He wants Robin Dawson, the sweet-hearted hottie who volunteers with him at the local homeless shelter. When he learns that Robin is suddenly single after being unceremoniously dumped, Vic is more than happy to offer a shoulder to cry on—or at least a fresh-baked pastry to bite into. But it’s been a long time since Vic’s gone on a date, and he’s nervous about risking his friendship with Robin. So when their flirtation turns into a steamy night together, Vic and Robin have to figure out if they’re friends with benefits or lovers in the making, and if Robin is ready for something more than just a rebound. There’s only one way to find out: turn up the heat…

Baked Fresh is the second book in the Portland Heat series by Annabeth Albert. It is considered a standalone book so reading of book one is not a necessity. This book is told from Vic’s point of view. He is a pastry baker by choice previously being miserable in the mortgage industry. When a series of deaths within his family occurs, Vic decides to make some major life changes. Besides finishing culinary school, he decides to take control of his weight and have lap-band surgery. After seeing all that death he doesn’t want to tempt fate, he just wants to live. After loosing over a hundred pounds, Vic is ready to finally date, but his body image is still suffering. He decides to jump on an opportunity after a guy, he has been lusting over for a couple of years, Robin, suddenly becomes free. He can be his rebound guy!

Robin works at the local shelter wanting to help people. He has a rather risqué past involving drugs and sex, and after getting himself clean, he wants to give back. After his recent breakup revealed, he still has some personal issues to work on. He feels he’s damaged and doesn’t want a new boyfriend even when Vic suggests he let him be his rebound guy. Vic doesn’t give up though and the more they “date”, the more Robin finds he likes having Vic around.

I really enjoyed the building of their relationship and how Vic took things with Robin very slow. He moves at a pace that he feels Robin is comfortable with. Soon, Vic realizes he can’t just be his rebound guy and wants more. So he sets his sights on making Robin believe he is his forever guy. We can all relate to how our self-esteem is directly connected to our pasts. Vic does his best to try and change Robin’s views of himself little by little. And in doing so, Robin changes some of Vic’s views of himself too.

If you are looking for a feel good read, this is it! I was hooked from the start and loved seeing Vic’s determination on changing Robin’s viewpoint. Talk about tender and oh so very patient! The story was very moving and it left me feeling all warm and fuzzy!